Andy Sinboy

Up until a few years ago, Romania didn't have any comic books, or at least not many to speak of.

So Andy Sinboy stepped in and collaboratively created Hard Comics.  Since then he's crisscrossed Europe a few times leaving character-driven murals and sexed-out women in his wake.

Here, he tells us all about it: Bucharest, cigarettes, sex...
you know, the essentials.

Chief Magazine: Where do you live?

Andy Sinboy: At the moment I am in Brussels, Belgium. I’ve been living here for the last five months. The girlfriend got a six month job as a translator, so we moved here. I’ve had five months of living off her and the taxpayers' money. A leach, a fucking leach I tell ye.

But you’re like 1/3 Spanish, 1/3 English, and… 1/3 Romanian?  How’s that work?

Well, I was born a pasty white boy with a massive erectile member on a warm April day in Madrid. The seed was provided by my Spanish mother, and the life juice by my British father. When I was in Spain I was always the English guy, in England I was the Spanish guy, and everywhere else I was just a fucking foreigner. I am the eternal tourist. I’ve been living in Romania since 2002, and I like it so much I’ve decided to adopt the nationality. Most Romanians wish they were something else, so I’ll be glad to trade places with them.

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What was your childhood like?  Growing up were you one of those kids always drawing?

In general I was always rubbish at school, not cause I’m stupid, which I am, but cause my mind tends to wander off every 20 seconds or so. Thinking about it now, I’m probably autistic. So I drew a lot. I also loved action figures: Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, Ninja Turtles, which might explain my fascination for strange creatures. Then I started painting lead figures, like Games Workshop role game figures. Thing is, I never actually played the game, I just liked painting them.

You’ve done a ton of graffiti… all over Europe.  Some has been commissioned, like murals for the French Cultural Institute of Bucharest, and some has been… how shall we say… not commissioned?  Is there a difference for you?  Between the commissioned and the illegal?

The main difference when I do a legal piece is that I can take my time and do something nice in a good spot in town. But it really infuriates me how there are so few places to practice graffiti. Cities are full of horrible grey concrete surfaces, which could be bursting with color and creativity. So many places which could be reconditioned so that they would become outdoor galleries with constant openings. I’ve made proposals to town halls, to recondition derelict spaces, clean them up ourselves, and with a team of great artists bring it back to life, and they just tell me that that will attract other graffiti, and show me the door. So we do it illegally! Obviously I think graffiti artists should have a certain code of ethics. Don’t paint on a nice building or monument - just don’t be an asshole, okay?

Was there a definitive moment that took you from drawing on paper to drawing on walls?

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I did a bit of graffiti when I was 16 or so, but didn’t properly pick it up till I went to Romania. A few friends and I started an art collective called Noise, so I did some stencils for that. Soon after the collective broke up, due mainly to an incident involving a tabby cat, a broom handle, a broken champagne glass and $50,000 worth of bad speed. But those stencils got the spark running, and since then I’ve been pretty busy.

Tell me about Hardcomics… this is Romania’s first comic collection, right?

When I got to Romania in 2002 there were literally no comics around. During Communism there had been three or four publications, all children oriented, but since the revolution in 1989 nothing really had happened in that sense. Even major publications such as Asterix or Spiderman had fallen flat on their face after a couple of issues. Some friends and I really wanted to read new comics, so we decided to make them. Thus, from the debauched meeting of a Serbian graphic designer (www.hardisco.com), a Romanian porno baron illustrator (www.branea.ro), and an anglo-spanish twunt, Hardcomics was born. Our first issue was with Roman Tolici, a contemporary painter and friend, the second book was teammate Matei Branea’s and for our third issue we decided to make a compilation. We knew there were people interested in comics, and people making them, so we spread the word that we would provide a platform for these people, and it was a big success. We are now on our 7th issue. The last issue was supported by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, and we held a kickass party with Theremin extraorinaire Dorit Chrysler and some DJs on what would’ve been Ceausescu’s personal balcony, in his palace, which happens to be the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon.

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What’s Bucharest like?

Bucharest is a very rock and roll city to live in. It’s not easy by any means, you have to be a survivor to manage. Most things don’t really work properly, the roads are full of potholes, and wild dogs roam around. But I love it to bits. Bucharest is really changing rapidly. From their communist past Romanians are really striving to be part of the Western capitalist culture. This, in a way, is broadening the gap in society. It’s mostly visible on the streets, where you see 30-year-old Dacia cars, billowing clouds of smoke, next to Rolls Royces and Hummers. But all this sounds very negative, in fact Bucharest is full of mysterious corners and alleys full of real life and amazing stories. There has been such a lack of things in the past that everybody is really eager for new ones, which translates into an incredible energy in the young generation. There are lots of galleries with open minds and great initiative, new bars opening every month. I have recently started to see scenes developing, punks, skinheads, Dandys, ravers… One thing I have to say, is that I feel much safer in Bucharest than I do in Madrid, London, New York…

In murals like the one you did at the Web Club in Bucharest… Where did these characters, these creatures you draw come from?

My characters I guess come from my background in comics, games, Star Wars fanaticism… Most of them however develop out of my poor eye-sight and the fact that I usually forget to wear my glasses. I look at something and see a shape, in that shape I see a deranged dolphin mutant boy. Out comes my sketch book and pen and after I’ve drawn him I put on my glasses to find I’m actually looking at a sculpture of a huge, turgid penis.

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One mural you did was for an anti-smoking campaign… and another commissioned work you did consisted of logo branding for Seven Stars, a cigarette company… it seems you don’t really let ethics get in the way of your work.

Ethics, schmethics! Nah, seriously. The anti-smoking campaign was obviously something nice that we did in a high school. My friend Sam3 was visiting and we were offered free paint and big walls, so we went for it. Obviously it’s better for kids not to smoke at all, if they do they’ll become a coughing, heaving waste like myself. The Seven Stars cigarettes gig was a bit different, all their branding (horrible branding) was done, and to promote themselves they were sponsoring some very good musical events in Bucharest. They had some stands in these events where you would be given a white t-shirt and some stencils to decorate it. What I did was come up with a concept for these stencils. I made a series of 50 illustrations that could be combined in any way you wanted, much like lego pieces, so that you could create a simple shape with two, or a complicated structure with many. Whenever I do something related to advertising I always insist on creative control and doing something with a concept, not just recreating a bloody logo.

I love my cigarettes, I love them in the sun, in the rain, covered in chocolate, fried with a little butter and garlic… but obviously it’s better if kids don’t smoke, unless they wanna be cool. You have to smoke then.

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It seems like there’s a lot of work for an illustrator/painter in Europe vs. the USA, if only because there’s so many countries so close together…does work find you or do you find work?  And where do you look?

Lately work has been finding me, which is rather nice. But that all comes and goes. A lot of jobs for three months, and then back to being a bum for another three. I’ve lately been thinking a regular job might be good for my sanity and mental stability, but I’d probably be fired quick sharp. Nonetheless, all the work on the streets I do is a constant promotion of myself, so I guess I’m always pasting up my CV looking for jobs.

You also write and make videos, even did a video for Converse… what’s your first, true passion?

Not being bored mostly. I think if you are a creative person it’s a shame just to stick to one field. I’m interested in all these things and have ideas for them, so why not do them? If you have an idea for a film, but don’t know how to make it, talk to some people, team up with them, do your first movie together, and for the second you will have the know-how. Just do as many things as your mangled brain can manage, because soon enough it won’t be able to manage very much at all…

I can only assume you’re not a virgin… what was your first time like? What was her name?

The moment I checked that box was with a great girl called Ana, in Madrid. She was, let’s say, more experienced than I was, not cause she was a slag, just cause I was a bit of a freak at school. I think I cooked dinner, me mom was out, and then we starting hammering away at the Red Label. When that was finished I went to the corner shop to get some more, and thought about purchasing some penile raincoats. However they only had Playboy ones, and me being a cheapo, and having to decide between teenage pregnancy or coke in my whisky, I opted for the latter. This was not the wisest move, as I discovered when I was delving into a mouthful of minge. We went at it anyway, and rest assured, the copious amounts of alcohol and the nervous wreck I was ensured that this was a night she would not remember, and makes me wonder whether I really, technically lost my virginity that day.

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Website

www.sinboy.ro
www.hardcomics.ro

Photos

Andy Sinboy

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